All Access: Braunecker finding his NFL footing

access pass into Chicago Bears football. Bears All Access is brought to you by IGS Energy and sponsored by Miller Litte, CDW and four Welcome into another edition of Bears All Access, presented by IGS Energy, Jeff Jonnick and Tom There my broadcast partner from news Radio seven eighty one five point fw BBM, and well please to be joined by veteran tight end Ben Bronniker. I know that sounds weird, but that sounds good. You're in the grind. You're you're grinding

boards along career in the National Football League. Good to have you here, Thanks for being here. I know it's a crazy time, short week for sure, Yes, and two games in five days, lots of meetings. While you're doing one thing, other half of your brands are getting ready for the regular season opener. How's it all been? How's it all been for you? It's been quite a ride.

Now that I'm looking back on it, it's amazing. To see the progress, not only the progress that I made, but everything that players have done since we first got here. We've got the sankest second longest preseason in the NFL, second to the Ravens reported I think the day earlier than us, But just like the amount of time that we've all committed to this journey, it's it's pretty amazing that it's almost over. But you know what, your whole journey has increased because here you are. You come in,

you don't know a lot. Where's your place going to fit in this offense? Number one? And then it fits in multiple places on the offensive line of scrimmage, and then you start playing a little bit in the backfield, full back, h back. So Jeff says that you got one side of your brain thinking about Buffalo, one of it thinking about Green Bay. But then you got four different assignments that you have to be alert too, and

even even special teams duties. Yes, for sure, it's a challenge something that I've really had to focus on and work hard on since I got into the league because the adjustment um coming from Harvard or coming from college football in general. I was specifically an offensive player. I think it maybe played kickoff return my senior year. But to come into here and the circumstances be completely different, and then your job list you pretty much have to

be a Swiss Army knife and do everything. It was. It was quite stressful rookie year, but I think of I think of managed well since then. So going back to high school in Indiana, First of all, did you have any Indiana colleges that you look, you liked, or you grew up around or I guess because now it would be an appropriate attempt to like throw shade to all the Big ten schools that that passed up on me. Uh No, I had a Big ten offers, no Division one,

Single A offers, just Southern Illinois, Illinois. But you had all these impressive stats as a high school football player. But then I read honorable mention. Also, what the heck is that it says I'll stay and that has got parenthancies? Honorable mention? Who when the heck was in front of you?

I don't really know. I know that, at least in Indiana high school athletics, the opinion of the people that determine all those ratings is that there's nothing south of Indianapolis, which which I guess is kind of true if you I mean, if if anybody's ever been in Indiana and you can drive south of Indianapolis just a bunch of farmland,

that's that's where I'm from. Um. And so the competition that I was facing and putting those big numbers up against was less than stout, I guess, or less than impressive. So I didn't, Well, you can only perform to what your opportunity. And it's that's what the thing about it was is that's kind of making a joke because you had those oppressive high school stats, but you've always been climbing the ladder because when you got here, we're talking

about the student from Harvard. That's no longer a part of your introduction. Now it's the multiple faceted football player for the Bears. It's kind of neat how you've climbed that ladder. Yeah, it's it's been really difficult, um, but focus and determination has gotten me to where I am what has been the most difficult aspect of it. And you know you're in a place right now where other guys in that ninety man locker room are are currently in.

I mean, you did get waved twice. They kept you here though, So you did enough that they wanted to keep you here. And now you know that this process continues and you continually keep adding to your repertoire. You're getting stronger, bigger, faster, better, you're getting smarter. At the NFL level, you got a new system that hey, may you know, you're gonna tell us that you may fit ideally in, you know, and so a lot of things

going in the right direction. But so when you put all that together, it is a process, right, The whole thing is a process when you come into this league. But what was in what is maybe still to this day, the most difficult aspect of it all. I guess the biggest challenge that I faced work a year was really coming to grips with how much pressure there was every single game, every single opportunity. It was quite the realization for me that I was no longer playing football for fun,

that this was a business, this was a job. This is going to determine my future or my teammates future. So there was there was a lot writing on that line. I didn't really understand that coming into or making the transition from college to when did it crystallize what moment maybe we'll see. I got injured in a rookie preseason, and they kept me around until I was until I get active I think week three, so that then I was without any like, without playing an NFL snap under

the lights. I was thrown out there on Sunday. I learned. I learned really fast that I had to grow up. So I tripped up a couple of times, but eventually got on the right course. Well, Jeff just said, you're bigger, stronger, faster better than when you got here. A lot of guys when they come into the NFL, they probably never achieved the numbers in the combine that they did at

that time. Are you bigger, stronger, faster better now? I think you had twenty reps in the combine, So have you elevated your strength, your size, your speed and those types of things? Definitely. I kind of a lot has been made about my combine numbers. I was on the back of the Wall Street journals saying or something like that. But to be honest, I was quite disappointed with my performance because I was tired and ready to go home

by the end of the combine. I think every athlete that goes through that to some extent it's ready for it to be over because they keep you up late and then you wake up early to do drug tests or more meetings, and they really drag you around from from from interview to interview there at night. But to answer your question, yes, I've it's really important, or at least in my case, it was important to adjust from

playing ivy League football to NFL football. Like the defenders on the other side of the ball are quite different, so I had to improve my body, improve my speed, that sort of stuff, and to be more competitive. As it is, it's time indicated and this is ancient history now or once you get past the combine. But he was.

He had the fifth fastest forty time. He had the third most bench reps among tight He had twenty Yeah, and he had a vertical thirty five and a half, which I'll take any day or the week, and that was second among tight ends. Had half of Jeff's. Yeah, And you say you should have done better, So we're your pay workouts, yes, better or your workouts for the d Yeah, I improved. I didn't do everything of my protey because some of those numbers were just going to

be sufficient. But I think it jumped higher on the on the verb and then ran faster. In my forty I think that might have been the only two games that it did in addition to Catchen Grounds. Yeah, we'll get into the XS and host part of it and football part of it, where you're better also because that's one thing that you can control, is how you prepare your body and so forth. And then you know, systems change and things change, and now you got to recalibrate

on that aspect of well. Ben Bronicker is our guest here on Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Welcome back to Bears All Access, brought to you by IGS Energy at proud partner of the Chicago Bears, providing electricity natural gas at home warranty products to over one million customers across the country. Learn more

about IGS Energy at igs dot com. Jeff and Time with You along with Pause Oranger engineer and Dan but really producing the show for us and Ben Bronicker kind enough to give up some of his day for us. A veteran tight end out of Harvard making an impact last week. I love the way you played last week. You got you got us all excited, you got us excited. The run after the catch was big with Chase Daniel. Yes last week, much of the yards after the catch.

Is that a major component of this offense? The yards? Yuh, for sure. I think that the scheme in general gets everybody that's able to catch the ball in the right spot or in spots that are able to guess the defense. Um. So I'm really excited about playing in this offense and scene for one, and secondly just seeing what it can do against NFL defenses. So just a backtrack a little bit.

So you come out of college, if this offense was presented to you, now, are you still Ben Bronnicker the tight end that's going to block on the line of scrimmage or would you be Ben Bronicker the you tight end and kind of a Trey Burton role because you've been able to I was looking at some of the past tight ends you've played within your career, and there's a lot of them. But you've also morphed into that position.

And there is two differences between the tight end here. Yes, I would say probably the latter one because that's I played in slot and out wide at Harvard, more comfortable out there. And two, I played wide receiver in high school, so a lot of the adjusting process or the adjustment process for me the first two years of my career was learning to play with my hand in the dirt

as an inline tight end. But I recognize that there was going to be a little bit of a job change with the just the way that the the personnel and the staff wanted me to play. So this offseason that cut a little bit of weight, thought about or focused more on running faster, improving agility to make way for myself make transitioning to more as a U tight end. You told everybody last week, and I was unable to get it in the pregame show because we got guys on.

Jim Schwantz was a special teams guy with the Chicago Bears and the San Francisco forty nine ers. Tom did special teams his entire NFL career, And here Ben Brownicker was talking talking about I mean, you're just really grab my Attention's talking about how great special teams is, you know, and that it's relaxing, and I'm like, whoa, whoa wa,

We'll back up a minute. Relaxing. I've never heard a player in my twenty two years in this building or covering the Bears, or back to eighty five, say, special teams was relaxing, but he finds it relaxing. Will you please explain to Tom why you it's relaxing relax Well, I compared to offense, I find it to be more freeing and in the same sense, in the same sense

relaxing to a certain extent. Uh, there are parts of special teams that are not relaxing, like punt, for example, you're put in a disadvantageous position and ask to run backwards, stop a man's full charge, and then run down field tackle AI. Yeah, exactly. But specifically offense asks you to be at a certain spot in a certain amount of time. There were all these rules. Who you're supposed to block,

who you're supposed to read. Special teams compared to that is just like football for front for fun in high school. Just run it down on kickoff with your with your friends and everything like that. It's you know, it's really I've found it really relaxed at this level. It's it's really the first wrong of the ladder, because if you're coming in here as a rookie and you're not one of the high draft choices. That's going to be immediate

considered immediate starter for sure. You better contribute on one, two, or as many special teams as you can. Then you're gonna get that game day jersey, that game day activation. It gets you more reps at your craft on the practice field and now here you are. That's exactly what's happened to me. Uh yeah, so I guess I'm really fortunate and the lucky to enjoy special teams as much as they do. Some can't stand it, some don't want to ever do it, you know, rectly right, I hate

to do exactly. I hate to keep bringing it up, but I did plan it from my first game in the NFL to my last game and every year in between, and I was on the wedge on kickoff return. But again, it is it is a more of a sense of belonging because when you go to the room and you look at they always hang up whatever special team they're doing, they hang up the depth chart, and when your name is there on the top of the depth chart, it's

just another aspect and you kind of take pride in it. Yeah, it shows that the special teams coordinator coach has face. Thank you that the staff upstairs trusts you to do something that's difficult, and they have a lot of voices these days too, special teams coordinators that dictate. You know, it's going to dictate in some cases not a grand number of players, but it'll dictate who makes this football team on Saturday afternoon and the cut to fifty three.

It reminds me of reading about Trey Burton's background because special teams. He was a quarterback at Florida for crant Old.

He played multiple positions, but the special team. So apparently he's in a meeting with Dave Phipp, who at that time was the special team's coordinator still maybe in Philadelphia, I don't recall, but Dave Phip, you know, he's Trey's asking him questions about stuff, and that guy shines the little pen light on the depth chart and treys like, you know, the fifth tight end or sixth tight end, so you know, don't focus on offense, focus on this. Well, Trey turns out to be the NFL's on the NFL

All Rookie Team. As a special teams player, he was great. I remember. Yeah, so trades production was amazing first couple of years in the league and that's the key, and that's the key. And if everybody comes in the league thinks the same way you do, I think they have a greater shot at being somebody that can be here and put together a five, eight, ten year career. It's a humble pie, though, because for the first time in some five star careers, you know they have to be

on special teams. You know, you're not a five star high school kid going to whatever program. You're coming to the National Football League and look, you're gonna play participate on special teams. There is a big difference between special teams coordinators. I think we've talked to people about this, including yourself. What do you think about our friend right now, because he's been here before. We love tabes and he's he's got a lot of intensity. Yet he's just that.

He comes off as being just you know, hey, old golly gee. Yeah, but he's not. He's he's a character. On one hand, he will if you're having a bad day, he will give you five different jokes, one liners, knock knock, whatever you need to get you to get you to smiling and you like, have a better day. But on the other hand, he's got this fire within him kind of kind of crazy fire that comes up on game day. If you watch him on the sidelines, it's it's like,

it's it's amazing. It's just like the craziness, the look in his eye, it's it's unlike anything you've ever seen. Well, the personalities you're dealing with on the special team, especially when you have guys like Balami and stuff that have

made a career on a special team. Sherrick McManus. He makes a huge play the other day on the punt, perfect form tackle, you know, getting downfield, and you know, I think when you see how important it is that guys like that and it carries a lot of weight, and then you see the personalities of some special teams coaches, then you do you get an understanding what that room

is like. I think he's really been able to connect with the guys that have these big person like as you were saying, So, I think just from sitting in the room and being a part of special teams, I feel like the group is more closely knit, it's working better together as a result of his ability to use the sense of humor to connect us. That's also the feeling I get from talking everybody with Ben Brown are the Bear's tight end. Here on Bears All Access on

Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score brought to you by Igs energy that Matt Neggi from the moment he got in this building is set the tone for the entire year, end for the immediate future of the Chicago Bears. There's a great response and a great respect for Matt already, and it's rare that a first time head coach can absolutely get that from day one. That's just my experience with it. Anyway, what is it a bottom that resonates

with those ninety guys, including yourself. I think one, he's younger. Two he was very specific about what he wanted from us as far as like a team culture goes in from day one. Like you said, when he showed up and we had our first team meeting, he was like, be yourself, it's one of the most important things. But also we need to be obsessed about this, this mission

to win the Super Bowl this year. So I thought it was obviously this is my this is my first NFL head coaching change that I've experienced, but it was to me, it was very concise and specific as to what he wanted and that was for us to be a family, to be ourselves and to be obsessed about football. Did he change your locker position because he wants to be a family. I think that's part of the growth process. I heard that was Tony Medlan, but could have been.

It goes along with Night's agenda. Yes, yeah, I'm mixing and matching and you know, getting to know what he wants. Family. Yes, can't get stronger than family's right. Can't get strong and fen That's how you get through all the tough times and work through all the great times as well, because you got to deal with success as much as failure. We'll continue our conversation with Ben Bronicker here on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score Cap the latest Bears news,

photos and videos delivered straight to your mobile device. Download the Chicago Bears Official mobile app presented by Verizon. Jeff Jonny back in top there with Ben Bronnicker or the Bears tight end as he gets set to play some snaps out are they going to play against the Buffalo Bills and Thursday Night and get ready for the Green Bay Packers on September ninth. It's it's very exciting to know what's on the agenda coming up, a division battle

against the Green Bay Packers. Everybody's got to get through the weekend, though it's probably made for a little nerve racking week maybe for a lot of guys who don't know their future. You get that sense, do you feel that? And you could speak to it better than anybody because you've been here, Yeah, and I've been cut. Yes, Yes, I can. I can definitely feel a mood change from

pretty much everybody, especially the guys in the bubble. The starters essentially know that they're going to be here, that that you know, there's there's job security there. But everybody else feel they pull back a little bit. The uncertainty gets to them, um, and pull back in terms of the conversation, or they quiet in a sense, they get quieter. Um. But that's just that's just part of the job and the competitive nature of this business. How is Kevin Kilbride

been your position coach, Kevin Gilbride Junior. First of all, he's the best drop foot or drop kicker I've ever seen. I've been watching you know, you see you get through these games. You can check them out. Left footed drop kick from like forty yards away, with consistency. But anyways, how has he been able to manage a group of you know, there's a diverse group of guys in there. You guys are still a young group of tight ends.

You got Dan Sims with experience, But how is his transition bend through this system and to you as a young player. Oh, he's been great. He's spent time to really understand what Naggie wants from the tight end position and convey that perfectly to us like he's he does a fantastic job of being an NFL coach and what that means is allowing us to express ourselves and be professionals and handle our business, but then again being a coach and making sure that we're doing the right thing

in the system. Are all you tight ends in one room or is so Trey Burton as a you tight end will be in there? Okay? Yeah, we're all together and he coaches us all. Do you feel more comfortable now three years in too volunteer some information to your coach or in terms of hey what about this? Or not yet? Yes, But that's it's a difficult thing to do.

I have a good enough relationship with Kevin that I could do that that I'm confident enough to do that, but it's not always the case, not always the case around the league that, yeah, anybody would be able to. Are you exposed to a lot more routes this year than you have with the last systems you've been in, even going back to college? Because I think he had

a big midfield catching Denver at practice too. And I always thought you guys really benefited for having Chase as your quarterbacks sometimes with the second reps because he knows his system so well. But you know, is it still this consistency in the routes? Are you have more? I think that the Titans are just featured more, especially in the seam in the middle of the field than we have been the past couple of years, and that production

is what you're seeing. We're being where Titans are the first or second read in the quarterbacks progressions and really taking advantage especially when the in the middle of the field when the safeties are split. That's do you have it down cold? Pretty much gotten living for the past Oh it's been six seven weeks. Yeah, Well, you know, Matt's been very good about telling everybody listen now, how

listen Now we're gonna be fine. But this is a process, this offense and Mitch Trubisky executing it and seeing the things or as he's said recently, Matt just the other night about bones are buried in the offense, which Chase Daniel knows and Taylor Bray is now six years with this coach knows where they're buried as well. It's gonna take time for everybody to know where they're all buried, right, And I think that's an important thing everybody wants and expects, Okay, results,

because you got to change. They look at the LA Rams last year. Not everything works so black and white. There is a lot of gray in the National Football League and just putting together an offense that functions at a baseline level, you could be the worst offense in the NFL. That's hard to do, if I'm being honest. To get everybody, all eleven men doing their job correctly and even gaining a yard on a play tough to do.

Have you seen these guys with play defense? Amazing? But to like to know where the bones are buried, to know understand the nuances of the coverage, the position of everything that a quarterback has to go through. It's it's extraordinary. The best offenses in the NFL, they're essentially they should be viewed as like magical, just like the amount of talent, the amount of dedication, the amount of study that it takes to execute an NFL offer. And this offense can

do it at each level. It's interesting how it could take advantage of each level. If you're gonna go and evaluate your opponent and you see they're susceptible to something one thing or another, you have an opportunity within this offense of attacking all three levels. And that's not whether it's the size of Alan Robinson, the speed of Taylor Gabriel,

the efficiency of Trey Burton. You guys as the other opposite tight ends the running game, and you know there's so many weapons here that it's gonna be neat to see the evolution of this. And you know when you say that, oh yeah, you've been living it for six and seven weeks, that's not a long time. This is something that you have to an adjust an offense for years. When you think of Ben Roethlisberger, you think of Aaron Rodgers.

If you get your group of guys with one system for five, six, seven years, that's when that's that's when you're dangerous. That would be almost unbeatable in my mind, right, and that's rare. Yes, for sure, there's too much impatience, there's too much injury. Uh you know that people get, you know, a little itchy about when things don't go well right away. And you know you can sit here and talk to your blooming if you get the right guy behind center though, that's what I'm saying. Yes, yeah,

you have a great opportunity to it. But Tom paired with the same coaching staff for that periostime. Because if there's constant change, you know, every time you're taking two steps back to make one giant step forward. In most cases, it does happen every now and again. Well, look at these guys. His offensive line didn't didn't miss a game for how many years? A long time, seven years, seven years as an offensive line. But they were together. That's beauty.

That's what he's that's the magic he's talking right. But you know, when you talk about coaching staffs, coaching staffs being long tenured with the same team, a lot of it has to do because of you. You know, they're not making a change with Brady, They're not making a change with Roethlisberger, although coordinators, not hit coach and the other crews around the other. Great. Yeah, I mean they've been together, you know, Sean Payton and Andrew Brees. Yeah, I mean it all seems to go hand in hand.

Then you keep the same offensive line coach, and then you know, the whole system stays in place, and then the tight ends are running a route for the thousandth time, not not one hundred, or you know, whatever, whatever the case. And at that point you essentially don't have to think the whole offense Jeff, which your special case. You don't have to think if you think you're beat. He has been something as a cerebral football player I had to

learn and just to quite difficultly. So have you conquered that yet? Yes? How did you part? As you said, it's a process, Well, how did you do it? How'd you have to? Okay, so you're getting yelled at if you make a mistake or you getting pulled from blah blah blah, and you're you're you're going home and think out what God, how can I slow this down? Or I don't have to? I mean, what was your own process? Because you are a unique individual you really want to know, Yes,

I do. I discovered meditation, and it essentially allows me to focus hard at being me in the moment, so I don't have to worry about, oh I dropped this pass, or did I run the right route, or all I made this mistake now they might cut me or anything in these million things that might be floating around or that we're floating around in my head. Rookie, here, they're just gone, and I'm focused on what I'm doing at the moment, being the best version of me possible. So

you train yourself through meditation. How often do you meditated, like for minutes hours? Well, if I want to sit down and commit time to meditation I do that in the morning and at night for at least ten minutes

to get to keep me like focused. But you can do it at anytime of the day like I have been during this this interview, if I'm being honest, Yeah, just like find a spare breath and I can just really refocus myself and yeah in between questions, Yeah, it's you and I are gonna have to visit off here because if anybody needs meditation, it's this guy right here.

Big skill that you should and I know we got to go to a break, but to just stay on this topic for a moment, when did you start feeling and seeing it bear fruit for your The meditation as it pertains to football specific, it's quite difficult to get started with because at least how we're built in this society, we are trained to be impatient, to look for the next thing. To teach yourself. At twenty two years old,

to be patient took months, half a year. I really didn't start noticing myself being almost a different person maybe a year down the road. Yeah, have you had others follow your lead? I've tried. It's pretty weird. It's pretty weird to try to explain. They just sit in a room and just focus on your breath, you know, with all the distractions that we have in our culture. But

we have a ton, Yeah, we have a ton. Ben Bronnick, or our guest here on Bearzow Access, will continue the conversation with Tom there Jeff joni Ac in Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score the August thirty of preseason game against the Buffalo bill brought to you by Hall of Fame partner United Airlines First twenty five thousand, fans Enimy Soldier fields. He bade schedule magnet courtesy of United

Airlines United probably flying the Bears for over forty years. Jeff, Jonnyak and Tom there with Ben Bronicker here on Bears All Access. One more question to follow up about the meditation. Was there one instant that let the fuse that you go, okay, I need something to pull me out of this or did you just start learning about and then okay, I think this is a process that could help me in

my job in life. To be honest, it was a series of stressful weeks and a string of mistakes that led to a referral to the team psychologist, Gloria Blague, and she led me to this app called Vision Pursue that I think was developed by somebody an x NFL player. I can't remember his name right now, but it essentially takes you from never having heard about meditation to practice trained meditator. And she's serving quite a role in this organization.

Very few people know who she is. Obviously, it's not somebody that is written about or talked about, but she's been around here last few years. You got guys from various backgrounds, ages, issues, whatnot. I know Trey Burton just I did something on some website about his experience with being anxious, a lot of anxiety, and how he managed

to work exactly the same as as my path. Yea, yeah, and work through that because the mental health of everyone is a concern, obviously, but everybody needs a little something to get them through their career, their day or whatever. And just because it's exercising your brain to be it's no different than exercise in the weight room. It's hard to expose yourself in a locker room too, when you're

the new guy there. You don't want to seem like a guy that's anything other than a committed NFL football player. So I think what they're the attation they're trying to pay to everybody. I think it's really important because you can come to work with a problem, you can have one happened during the day or you know, over the course of the night. I mean, you just detailed the pressures.

I mean again, you're you're twenty something, your little kid who you know clearly could do whatever the heck you want. You have, you are a smart individual who you know down the road you have other other plans and so forth when you're talking about a guy who studied molecular

and cellular biology. Yes, yeah, But the thing of it is, if you care about this game, and you care about the limited time that you have to play this game, anything you can do to me that tells me you love the game, that tells me you want to be a signific thicking part of the history of the Chicago Bears and maintain this career because not everybody loves it

like that. Right. Yeah. When I first got in, when I first showed up at this building, I met with Frank Smith, my then tight end coach, and he told me that there are two guys that make it in this league, one absolute freak shows and two guys that will not be denied. Obviously, I need to I need if I want to make it, I need to fit into that letter category. And the vision pursue meditation and

training is an example of that. Does it make it you know, does does it make it easier on a day to day basis for you because you have somewhere to go and help yourself? Or are there days that still are frustrating because you know you sit in a room full of your peers and coaches have to make a point that you're not doing such a good job. I mean, the strength that it has provided for you has to get you through those times. Yeah, Criticism, failure,

anything like that. It's a necessary part of oth really, not just in becoming a foot better football player, but just like growing as individuals. So it's yeah, it's really important to be able to be able to accurately or not with your ego in so much of a of a bind, handle criticism and just focus on having a growth oriented mindset and getting better. But you know, the pressure of professional sports never goes away, Yeah, for sure. So it's more of managing the pressure as opposed to

absolving it and getting really bitter entirely? Are you conditioned like my friend here is who is this way in our day to day broadcast sense, also conditioned to sweat out every day fear of failure, fear of fear of losing yours, your job. I mean, do you live in that world? I did, But that is very dangerous to do because if you're always afraid of losing your job, you kind of are always looking behind you. And then the saying is you can never see what's happening in

front of you. If you're always looking in the review of mirror or something like that. So it's it was part of the meditation training is focusing on where you are and what you're doing, so that you don't have to always be so concerned about if you make a mistake you might get cut or whatever. It's trust in, trust in the process, and whatever happens happens. Yeah, I mean that was always the care that was dangle in front of our face, as if you don't provide perform,

where you are going to get cut. That kind of right, But you know, Dick could probably he emphasized that point on a regular basis too. But again it's something that you live through and I've learned from. So yeah, I put a lot. I put as much pressure on myself to succeed is anybody's ever put out. For sure, I can be an amazing motivator correct if you handle it at least somewhat correctly, but it can also be crippling. Yeah, But the interesting thing when you have somebody that does that.

In my case, he's my broadcast partner here, but he's also a guy we all respect on our crew, and there's there's just not Tom and Jeff doing the game. It's everybody else, but we all thrive off of his desire to be great, And I think every successful team needs groups of guys like that or leaders like that, male or female, and he's that guy. So we all kind of follow his lead a little bit. That's rooted in his offensive line roots. Obviously as a as a

football player, follow us will take care of business. But I do think it's important. You think you'll down the road now that you have, you've dipped your toe on the athletic world at the professional level and hopefully have a ten year career here afterward. Do you think you will be able to impart some of this own self introspection and have it be beneficial to others in the sporting world. I sure hope. So that being said, I

understand that everybody's path is a little bit different. Maybe guys coming into the league have it more figured out than I did, or aren't as anxious or nervous. So I'll definitely be here to help, but I'm not going to be a speaker horn saying, oh, this is how

I did it, so it's got to work for everybody. Definitely, not do you pay attention to sports and your free time or are I'm pretty saturated, right, But I mean if there's a college football game on and you have time on a Saturday, or you're flying, you know, to a game, they have live TV. Generally don't, but I'm not opposed to it. Right. Tim Murphy, head coach at Harvard, He's impacted a lot of folks. Well respected football coach. What did he do for you? What's the impact on you?

It was big. What he did for me was essentially turn me into a man at at to some extent. When you get to an environment that's as different from your hometown as Harvard is from Farmtown, Indiana, there's a lot of doubt or fear or anxiety that might cross into a young boy or young man's mind. Murph is is a fantastic motivator in a sense that he's not going to be a raw, raw coach in your face. He's more like a mastermind with not not only player development as a as a as a football player, but

also like development as a human on and off the field. UM, character building, UM, just making yourself a better man. What he did for me was he made me realize that

I had the ability to do whatever I wanted. So as long as I really believed in myself and focused and attacked everything with relentless determination, that I could do essentially whatever whatever I wanted to do, whether that was be the first NFL player from your hometown or be a doctor someday, whatever it is I wanted to do, if I attacked it with the skills that he or the yeah, the skills that he told me to, then

I could do it. Ben Broncker Arc guessed one more segment with the Bears tight End is that you're ready to meet the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night. It sold your field after this break on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy. The score this segment, it bears all the access is orchestrated by cd DW people who get it, Jeff and Town and Ben Bronnocker. It's been a fun, fun time

with you here on the show. We really appreciate you taking the time out of all these things we've discussed and if you just joining the show, it's been a meandering discussion on all things life, which is a reflection of football in many regards. You get knocked down, you have to dust yourself off and get back up and get on your feet and get onto the next play. Are you a smarter football player based on what you've learned? And did you think you knew a lot about football

until you got here? And then say, whoaa, I really didn't know this, or you know now you got a brand new playbook and and another very smart, bright offensive mind surrounded by other smart offensive minds like Mark Helfrich and Brad Childress and Dave Ragone and so on and so forth. Yeah, the telling them that offensive meeting room is amazing. Talking about the the NFL offensive minds, it's incredible as far as I go, Yes, I'm definitely a

more smarter NFL or football player in general. At Harvard, I was very good at my niche my small little bubble that I had to perform in, which was playing in line a little bit, but especially in the slot, running down the scene, blocking for screens on the perimeter. I was very good at that, and so I had a sense of what I was lacking heading to the next level, and those were the things that I definitely had to work on. But it was it was a lot to adjust to immediately. Yeah, you talk about your

college coach, Tim Murphy help you grow up? In that time you had there. So now you come to the OTA's mini camp or a training camp. Now you're in full pads and you got a Keem Hicks lined up over you. You got Leonard Floyd, you got the speed of Danny Trevathan, you got the rest of these guys. How are you able to Okay? Except I did this at Harvard, I have the ability to do it here against season that the linebackers, defensive backs on and so far. It's amazing how your body and mind adjust to the

speed of the game. Obviously, the temple that I played out in college probably wouldn't get it done at this level. And I realized that after the first couple of reps maybe rookie year OTAs. But then as I spent more time exerting more effort and just focusing on becoming a better football player, I was amazed that the progress that or the amount of information that I could process more in those short first five steps off the ball or

something like that, it was. It was quite incredible. The body's an amazing machine and it can do you can do if you treat it right. I can do pretty much anything you wanted to. And adapting to the speed of the NFL game has been one in my experience, almost every conversation with an offensive player begins and ends in some format with the reporters asking about Mitchell Trubisky. So let's get your two cents on the Bear's second your quarterback. His two cents is worked like a dollar though.

So I've really noticed him taking a step forward as far as well, not only he's going to be a better quarterback this year than he was last year, just the types of balls that he can throw, his timing in the offense, all that across the board. He's improved. But what I've really noticed this is understanding that this is my team and that I'm going to lead it with this perfectionistic motivational latitude. That's been a really big eye opener for me. It's something that I've really really

stuck out. You know, it's amazing. I think it's underappreciated thus far. From Mitchell Trubisky is that you learn the terminology of last year's offense, You memorize, you gotta down forget everything he just told you, and then you're going to learn a new language. Within a couple of months, go out there, speak affluently and know exactly what you're saying to ten other guys in the huddle. That impresses me a lot about you know, Mitch being within the

system for a small period of time. Yes, I to be honest, I don't know how anyone human being is able to do that. I agree. It's the amount of responsibility. And just like the the criteria to be an NFL quarterback is just astounding. That anybody can do it well is befuddling to me, from being honest, But I think he's done. He's done really well, adjusting to forgetting everything, unlearning what you learned, to try to master a completely

new subject. Yeah. Yeah, they don't get enough credit. Actually I don't think so. I mean some people say they get too much when they win. I don't think they get. People that understand the game understand you could affect that you couldn't take a part. Well you could. I'm just saying if you just kind of showed him. Listen, I want you to learn five plays by the morning, and then we're gonna take you out. We're gonna go over them.

Then you got to repeat them. And but then you think of that, Mitch has got to know three hundred you know and then they could change an events and if the person changing what we were talking about earlier, finding the bones in the offense, that's the next level as opposed to where baseline is just getting everybody lined up and then doing the job. You could you could do that and be the worst offense in the NFL. But to take that next step is where you just

have to be honestly special. In my mind, well, it looks like you're taking the next step as well. We wish you nothing but the best here in twenty eighteen and beyond, and we really appreciate your time good luck this year. Ben Thank you. Just week on Inside the Bears, Roquan Smith's journey from Smalltown to Chicago and Alan Robinson hangs with Spice, Adams and Big Guys in a Benz Inside the Bears airs Saturday six pm on CW fifty Chicago and Sunday's at eleven o five pm on Box

thirty two Chicago. You can also watch show segments online at Chicago Bears dot com or on the Chicago Bears official app anytime. Thanks to our producers Herb Lawrence and Eli Hirskovitz, We've got Paul's Arrange and Dan BURRELLI here helping us out at Hallisaw for Ben Bronnicker. And there, I'm Jeff Joniac. This has been Bears All Access on Chicago Sports Radio six seventy The Score. Thanks for listening to this Chicago Bears Network presentation of Bears All Access.

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